Jan. 9, 2018, 1:54 p.m.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) has proposed a way to expedite the clearing of records of marijuana convictions. (Alexis Cuarezma / For The Times)

Proposition 64, approved by California voters in 2016 to legalize recreational pot use, allows people to petition the courts to have past convictions for marijuana offenses expunged from their records. But the process can be difficult and expensive, according to supporters of pot legalization.

In response, Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Alameda) on Tuesday proposed legislation that would make it easier to have criminal convictions removed from the records of marijuana users, potentially opening more doors to employment and housing.

Rather than require people to petition the courts for a determination, Assembly Bill 1793 would require criminal convictions for marijuana-related offenses to be automatically expunged, placing the burden on the courts, Bonta said.

Jan. 8, 2018, 2:35 p.m.

Most Californians with an urge to smoke a joint will enter the state's legal marijuana marketplace through a single doorway — at a retail shop.

But out of view of those day-to-day sales, the state is ushering in a sprawling, untested system to move pot from place to place that will also serve as a collection point for taxes, a gateway for testing and a packaging center for the plant's fragrant buds.

The so-called marijuana distributor is a kind of skeleton connecting the state's emerging industry of growers, sellers and manufacturers. It's envisioned as a vast back office where the grunt work of keeping track of cannabis and getting it from farms to store shelves will take place.

Jan. 7, 2018, 10:26 a.m.

When Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions green-lighted federal prosecutions of marijuana lawbreakers, the vast majority of U.S. states that allow some form of medical marijuana were unexpectedly placed at risk of a crackdown and are warily watching developments.

Forty-six states — including Sessions' home state of Alabama — have legalized some form of medical marijuana in recent years, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eight of those states also allow recreational marijuana.

Among the guidance that Sessions rescinded was the so-called Ogden Memorandum of 2009 that instructed federal prosecutors not to pursue cases against medical marijuana patients and distributors who complied with state laws.

Jan. 7, 2018, 10:23 a.m.

Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states' top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and may be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers.

When he rescinded the Justice Department's previous guidance on marijuana, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions left the issue to a mix of prosecutors who were appointed by President Trump's administration and others who are holdovers from the Obama years.

Legal experts do not expect a flood of new cases, and people familiar with the job of U.S. attorney say prosecutors could decide against using already limited resources to seek criminal charges against cannabis companies that abide by state regulations or their customers.

Jan. 7, 2018, 10:20 a.m.

Last week's announcement that the U.S. Justice Department was ditching its hands-off approach to states that have legalized marijuana initially sent some in the industry into a tailspin, just days after California's $7-billion recreational weed market opened for business.

But for long-term pot purveyors accustomed to changing regulatory winds, the decision was just another bump in a long and winding road to proving their business legitimacy.

Many in the industry said they're keeping a wait-and-see attitude because the effect of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions' announcement depends on whether federal prosecutors crack down on marijuana businesses operating legally under state laws. Sessions provided no details other than saying individual U.S. attorneys are authorized to prosecute marijuana operators as they choose.

Jan. 7, 2018, 10:16 a.m.

If you’ve spent most of your life buying slippers or perfumed powder for your grandmother, here’s a chance to finally make amends. Buy her a copy of “What’s Wrong With My Marijuana Plant?” a new and very helpful guide to growing healthy cannabis.

The book has gained a following among the gray-haired set, according to authors David Deardorff, 75, and Kathryn Wadsworth, 67, who are longtime writers (kathrynanddavid.com) and master gardeners.

They began teaching cannabis cultivation classes this year in their small town of Port Townsend, Wash.

Jan. 5, 2018, 4:36 p.m.

Whether to crack down on marijuana in states where it is legal is a decision that will now rest with those states' top federal prosecutors, many of whom are deeply rooted in their communities and may be reluctant to pursue cannabis businesses or their customers.

Legal experts do not expect a flood of new cases, and people familiar with the job of U.S. attorney say prosecutors could decide against using already limited resources to seek criminal charges against cannabis companies that abide by state regulations or their customers.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Thursday that if a new federal policy results in prosecutors charging marijuana growers and sellers licensed by the state, he would not rule out intervening in court on behalf of the state-sanctioned business.

“You take a look at everywhere you can to protect your people and your interests,” Becerra said in an interview with The Times.

He said that he may also collaborate with attorneys general in other states that have legalized marijuana sales to fight any federal enforcement effort.

Jan. 3, 2018, 1:12 p.m.

Aaron Moten, left, Dougie Baldwin and Kathy Bates in Season 1 of the Netflix series "Disjointed." (Robert Voets / Netflix)

Netflix’s pot-focused Kathy Bates workplace comedy, “Disjointed,” which launched with 10 episodes on the streaming video service last summer, is back with a second batch set to start streaming on Jan. 12, the company announced Tuesday.

Tuesday, probably not coincidentally, also marked the second day of legal adult-use (i.e. nonmedical) marijuana sales in the Golden State.

To promote the series’ August launch, Netflix partnered with Alternative Herbal Health Services in West Hollywood to temporarily turn it into Ruth’s Alternative Caring — the SoCal dispensary that’s the setting for the show — for a weekend, and, in a clever bit of marketing genius, offered cannabis strains with names inspired by “Disjointed” and other Netflix shows (Banana Stand Kush — a reference to “Arrested Development” — was among the more memorable).